A qualitative examination of factors impacting family engagement in treatment for youth with problematic sexual behavior

Widespread implementation of evidence-based responses for youth with problematic sexual behavior (PSB) have strong promise for preventing child sexual abuse and keeping children safe in our communities. Success of any evidence-based program for youth is limited by the ability to actively engage families in the services. Engaging families in treatment for PSB is particularly complex due to a variety of factors at the individual (e.g., taboo topic), family (e.g., cultural factors), system (e.g., multiple agency involvement), and policy levels (e.g., payment for services limited to adjudicated youth). The present study utilized a qualitative methods approach to examine facilitators and barriers to engagement of families in an EBP for youth with PSB amongst a multistate sample. Results revealed that caregiver intent to aid and support youth, as well as perseverance to overcome multiple system barriers, resulted in increased engagement. Family engagement was attainable despite barriers such as stress, lack of support, frequency of youth PSB, severity of child behavior problems, and other difficulties if overcome by caregiver motivation. Recommendations and policy implications for enhancing the engagement of families in treatment for youth with PSB are discussed.